The present disclosure relates to devices for placement of effluents on substrates. In particular embodiments, the present disclosure relates to devices for controlled placement of effluents that have been processed, either mechanically or electrically, to separate the effluents into their constituent molecules. In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to devices for placement on substrates of effluents that are to be analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI/TOF/MS).
The analysis of samples utilizing analytical chemistry techniques frequently requires the samples to be subjected to a number of successive techniques in order to obtain the desired information. This is particularly true when the sample to be analyzed includes biological molecules, such as polypeptides, proteins, lipids, polynucleotides, and/or polysaccharides. For example, it is common to initially subject a sample containing biological molecules to a chromatography technique in order to separate the constituent molecules of the sample into a number of liquid fractions collected from the effluent of the chromatography system (e.g. effluent from electrically driven devices, such as CE and CEC devices, or pump driven devices, such as capillary LC and micro-LC). Thereafter, each fraction can be subjected to a subsequent analytical technique in order to obtain additional information about the biological molecules contained therein. For example, each fraction can be subjected to an analytical technique such as, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Accordingly it is often necessary to transfer analytical samples from one analytical apparatus to another (e.g. from a chromatography apparatus to a mass spectrometry apparatus) in order to obtain the desired information. Therefore, an apparatus and method for transferring samples from one analytical apparatus to another is desirable.